We Won't Need 60 Minutes
by RenaRoo
Summary: Bruce needs someone he can trust to break the news of Cassandra's adoption in the world of media blitz. Fortunately he knows the best.


the-owlknight prompted: Honestly I would love to see something like Lois Lane interviewing Cass. Lois being of course considered by asking only Yes or No questions.

I wanted to make this challenging, so I set it in the New52-ish/DC-Youish universe rather than the preboot. I love these characters, I will love them no matter what, so I'm going to do my best to support them no matter the iteration. And man is that a tough mentality to get behind because I'm way unfamiliar with these versions of Cass and Lois when compared to how well I feel I know them in the preboot.

Batman, Superman and related properties © DC Comics  
story © RenaRoo

 **We Won't Need 60 Minutes**

The fact that Lois came as fast as she did with as little fuss as she did was something of a testament to how much she respected Clark. Not so much what she had left in reserve for Bruce after the last several brush offs he had given her request to get an exclusive.

Bruce was in debt to her, but he was _very_ much in debt to whatever sweet talking Clark had to do to get Lois to agree.

"So give me what I need to know," she said as she entered the Wayne Towers apartment and made a quick note of the decor. Her eyes were sharp and powerful, carrying almost as much weight as her words. They then turned curiously on Bruce. "And just so we're clear, you've been on the record since I walked in the door."

He offered her a _Brucie Wayne_ best smile and nodded his head. "Very well, Miss Lane," he said before shutting the door. "As you probably know from rumors, I will be making a public announcement tomorrow that I have adopted another child."

"Loving controversy as you seem to, I'm sure that seemed like the only solution to the press," she said, already taking out a pen and a notepad from her suit breast pocket.

"I can handle controversy," Bruce replied. "And it _does_ seem to help stocks some to have Wayne Enterprises in the news. _However,_ I am taking this announcement _very_ seriously, Miss Lane. Because my flare for announcements should not unfairly affect those under my care."

Lois' eyes did not soften, but her expression did. "We agree on something after all, Bruce. Who would have thunk it."

"My daughter's name is Cassandra," he continued without missing a beat. "She's sixteen. She's not a conversationalist, and there's a slight stutter. She's still expanding her vocabulary and is improving by leaps and bounds almost by the day. She's highly intelligent, and she easily detects trickery and has a low tolerance for condescension. She shuts out people who display either."

"What you're saying is she's not a fan of reporters," Lois interpreted.

"Just the ones who would have to resort to such things when questioning a teenager," Bruce agreed. "You wanted an exclusive from the Wayne Family Heir, Lois. Tonight's your night."

She pointed her pen at him. "You'll owe me, Mister."

"And _that,_ Miss Lane, is the scariest truth of all," Bruce sighed.

* * *

When Bruce left – which was already such a statement of trust Lois wasn't _entirely_ sure what to do with it – Lois found herself face to face with a wide eyed girl who had almost no clue what she was supposed to be doing in there.

 _Me too, kid,_ Lois thought dryly.

"Hey, there," Lois greeted, cocking her head to the side. "You must be Cassandra, right?"

The girl turned her head and looked at Lois. Her fingers were playing with the long length of her sleeves in between playing with the drawstrings to her oversized hoodie.

After a long pause, Cassandra nodded. "Yes."

Lois took a seat at Bruce's desk and kicked her feet up. "Did Bruce tell you who I was?"

There was a thoughtful gleam behind Cassandra's eyes that Lois latched onto immediately. Bruce was right, she hadn't said much but already Lois could see the girl was highly intelligent.

"Yes," Cassandra answered again.

"Well, he probably did it wrong," Lois shrugged. She held out her hand and smirked at the girl. "I'm Lois Lane. Reporter for the Daily Planet. Here to ask the tough questions so other reporters don't have a new spin even if they try."

The words seemed to dazzle Cassandra and she tilted her head back, hair and hood shadowing her expression some. She wasn't sure what to make of Lois, but she was trying.

That was all Lois could ask for.

After a long beat, Lois put her hand away again and sat back in Bruce's desk. "You can sit if you want to. We won't need long. People can say what they want about me, but I'm efficient _and_ thorough. No one can take that away from me."

Cassandra looked to the chair and then shook her head once.

"No? You'll stand? Alright then, that works, too," Lois agreed before snapping her pen open. "Bruce tells me that you two have met each other before. An orphanage in Macau? I'm having trouble clarifying where it was, though. Do you remember anything about it?"

Chewing on the inside of her cheek, Cass seemed progressively less comfortable with standing still. She began to move around the room, examining everything in sight. "No," she finally answered Lois as she ran her fingers over the picture frames she passed by.

"I see that your new, younger brother – Damian – is enrolled at Gotham Academy. The Waynes have generally had a long history with Gotham Academy," Lois continued, flipping through her notes. "Do you want to go to the private school?"

Cass hummed slightly, face lighting up as she noticed a Gotham City snow globe on the shelf of books she ignored. She immediately began playing with it. "No," she answered again.

"Hmm," Lois tapped her pen against her lips. "Is English your first language?"

To that, Cass gave a sympathetic look to Lois. "No."

"Would it be easier if I spoke to you in Chinese? Portugese? My Portugese is a little rusty but I can do it," Lois continued, reaching for her phone. The translator app Clark had downloaded for her was top notch. "I spent way more time learning French than turned out to be useful."

The confusion written all across Cassandra's face made the reporter take pause.

"No," Cass sighed.

Blinking a few times, Lois relaxed, a smirk growing across her lips. "Do you want me to shut up and get this interview over?"

The girl didn't give an answer, but her smile did.

"Do you like ice cream?" Lois decided.

"Yes," Cass replied, nodding excitedly. "A lot!"

"More than two words," Lois smirked, clicking her pen closed. "Knew I still had it in me."

* * *

When he returned not thirty minutes later, after a brief conversation with Lucius, Bruce was _genuinely_ surprised to hear from his secretary that Cassandra and Lois were gone.

"What does that even mean?" he demanded.

"They left," she clarified, as if that had been the part he was stuck on.

Bruce stared at her, a bit at a loss, when he heard the private lift's door open behind him. He turned and stared at Lois and Cass as the two reentered the office with ice cream cones in hand.

Cass came to Bruce's side, smiling wide and licked away at her cone.

Lois stood before him, chomping into the top scoop before holding out her hand. "Your cafeteria charged me five dollars for mine. I expect reimbursement."

He reached for his wallet before thinking about it and stopping. "I don't care fives."

"You are so rich it's disgusting," Lois snorted into her cone. "Our interview's over by the way. I'll have the story out in the morning. You _won't_ be getting a draft to review. Hope you trust me."

"I do," he replied before looking to his daughter and seeing the pink glow to her cheeks as she continued to eat the ice cream. "Are you okay with all of this, Cassandra?"

She looked Lois over with that eagle eye of hers, the one Bruce knew could see far more in a glance than he could tell in a lifetime. She then nodded to him.

"Yes," she replied genuinely.

"Thank you, Miss Lane," Bruce gave Lois at long last. "You are every bit the professional and ethical beauty that I've heard you are."

"Five dollars poorer for it, too," Lois snarked. "But no worries about your little-big announcement tomorrow, Bruce." She gave Cass a wink. "I'm looking out for our girl in the newsrags."


End file.
